单选题 It is easy to miss amid the day-to-day headlines of global economic recession, but there is a less conspicuous kind of social upheaval (剧变) underway that is fast altering both the face of the planet and the way human beings live. That change is the rapid acceleration of urbanization. In 2008, for the first time in human history, more than half the world's population was living in towns and cities. And as a recently published paper shows, the process of urbanization will only accelerate in the densely to come—with an enormous impact on biodiversity and potentially on climate change.
As Karen Seto, the lead author of the paper, points out, the wave of urbanization isn't just about the migration of people into urban environments, but about the environments themselves becoming bigger to accommodate all those people. The rapid expansion of urban areas will have a huge impact on biodiversity hotspots and on carbon emissions in those urban areas.
Humans are the ultimate invasive species—when they move into new territory, they often dis-place the wildlife that was already living there. And as land is cleared for those new cities—especially in the dense tropical forests—carbon will be released into the atmosphere as well. It's true that as people in developing nations move from the countryside to the city, the shift may reduce the pressure on land, which could in turn be good for the environment. This is especially so in desperately poor countries, where residents in the countryside slash and bum forests each growing season to clear space for fanning. But the real difference is that in developing nations, the move from rural areas to cities often leads to an accompanying increase in income—and that increase leads to an increase in the consumption of food and energy, which in turn causes a rise in carbon emissions. Getting enough to eat and enjoying the safety and comfort of living fully on the grid is certainly a good thing—but it does carry an environmental price.
The urbanization wave can't be stopped—and it shouldn't be. But Seto's paper does underscore the importance of managing that transition. If we do it the right way, we can reduce urbanization's impacts on the environment. 'There's an enormous opportunity here, and a lot of pressure and responsibility to think about how we urbanize,' says Seto. 'The one thing that's clear is that we can't build cities the way we have over the last couple of hundred years. The scale of this transition won't allow that.' We're headed towards an urban planet no matter what, but whether it becomes heaven or hell is up to us.

单选题 What issue does the author try to draw people's attention to?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】本题询问作者设法让人们关注什么问题。首段第1句为并列句，由转折词but连接，因此作者表述的重点在后半句，指出人类正在经历一场会改变我们星球面貌及我们的生活方式的隐秘剧变。第2句指出这种剧变就是the rapid acceleration of urbanization。最后一句提到这种剧变会给生物多样性和气候变化带来巨大的影响。接下来的第2、3段都是围绕着快速城镇化的影响展开，因此城镇化急剧加速带来的影响就是作者想要人们关注的问题，故选D“快速城镇化的影响”。选项动名词accelerating对应原文中的名词acceleration。

单选题 In what sense are humans the ultimate invasive species?

单选题 In what way is urbanization in poor countries good for the environment?

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题询问在何种程度上贫穷国家的城镇化对环境有利。第3段第3句提到在发展中国家，当人们从乡村迁往城市时会降低土地的压力，从而对环境有益。紧接着第4句说到，这种情况在极度贫困的国家尤其如此。因此B项“耕地的压力会被减轻”为答案。题干中的urbanization对应原文的move from the countryside to the city。选项B将原文的主动语态改为被动，lessen对应原文的reduce。

单选题 What does the author say about living comfortably in the city?

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】本题询问作者对城市舒适生活有何评论。第3段第5句指出，人们从乡村迁往城市的同时，收入增加了，继而食物与能源的消耗也相应地增加了，从而导致碳排放增加。本段最后一句就此做出评论，指出尽情享用丰盛的食物、享受安逸的生活当然是好事，但确实也付出了环境代价。因此A项“导致高昂的环境代价”为正确答案。原文中的名词性短语comfort of living在本题题干中被改写成动词短语living comfortably。原文中的on the grid(地理坐标)指代上句提到的人们迁入的cities，与题干中的in the city对应。